Series overview:
Part 1: ieStory 26022 – Dependence
Part 2: ieStory 26023 – Responsibility
Part 3: ieStory 26024 – Dignity (approx. 27 Feb 2026)
You are sitting at the same table again. Same chair. Same cup. Same time of day.
Only your взгляд has changed.
Since you started paying closer attention, something has become visible to you.
Something that was always there, but never had a name: responsibility.
Or rather, what is called responsibility and placed on you.
You carry it constantly. At work. In everyday life. In forms. In conversations.
And yet, it feels strangely hollow.
Responsibility Sounds Good – As Long as You Don’t Have to Carry It
Something goes wrong at work. Nothing dramatic. No scandal.
A process doesn’t work as planned. A number is off. A customer is unhappy.
You are called in for a conversation. Calm. Professional. No shouting. No threats.
You are told that, as the responsible person, the matter falls on you.
You nod. Of course you nod. You’re an adult. Responsible. Reliable.
But inside, something begins to shift.
Because you remember how this decision came about.
Not through you. Not even with you. The instructions came from above. Time was tight. The rules were fixed. You implemented what was required.
Now you sit there and hear sentences like:
“You should have acted differently.”
“We expect more diligence here.”
“You are responsible for this.”
You leave the room with that familiar tight feeling in your stomach.
Not anger. Not fear.
Something else.
A sense of misalignment.
Guilt Without Decision
That evening, you go through the situation again. You are not looking for excuses. You want to understand.
You had no choice.
You had no real decision.
And yet you are expected to bear the consequences.
This is the point where responsibility loses its meaning.
Because responsibility is not a label that can be assigned.
It only exists where decision-making power exists as well.
Everything else is liability. Or obedience. Or simply control from above.
Everyday Life Is Full of It
The longer you think about it, the more examples appear.
You are expected to act financially responsibly.
But rules change, fees appear, access is restricted – without your involvement.
You are expected to plan independently.
But deadlines, conditions, and frameworks are set in a way that leaves little real choice.
You are expected to stand by your decisions.
But many of those decisions were made for you long ago.
The system says: “You are responsible.”
But at the same time it whispers: “We decide.”
Responsibility for Rules Made by Others
The closer you look, the clearer it becomes.
At the bank, you are told that you are responsible for everything that happens on your account. Every transaction. Every number. Every word in the fine print.
But you do not get to decide when your money is available. Not which rules apply today. Not which algorithm reviews you.
You carry the responsibility –
but others made the rules.
It is similar with what you are allowed to say. What you may write. Which words are considered “appropriate.”
You are expected to express yourself correctly. Respectfully. In line with the rules.
And when you cross a line, you are told: That is your responsibility.
But who drew that line?
Who decides what is still allowed – and what suddenly is not?
It wasn’t you.
And yet you are the one who has to explain yourself. Who deletes content. Who apologises. Who learns to speak more carefully.
Not out of insight – but out of fear of consequences.
This creates a strange shift:
You are responsible for your behaviour,
but not for the rules by which it is judged.
It is called order. Security. Protection.
But it feels like something else:
like responsibility without a voice.
You learn to adapt.
Not because you are convinced, but because deviation can be costly.
Not through bans – but through exclusion, blocking, invisibility.
And at some point you realise:
You are not responsible in the sense of shaping things.
You are responsible in the sense of liability.
Safeguarding as a Substitute for Trust
All of this is explained to you as protection. As security. As necessity.
And yes, much of it is well intentioned.
But well intentioned is not the same as well done.
Because a system that secures everything also takes something away from people: the ability to truly stand up for themselves.
You are treated like someone who is trusted with responsibility – but not with freedom.
Like someone who is expected to function – but not to truly decide.
And at some point, you begin to see yourself that way.
The Moment Everything Shifts
A few weeks later, you receive a letter. No threat. No drama.
A repayment request.
Something you received is now to be paid back. Reason: new assessment, new rule, new interpretation.
You read the letter twice. Three times.
You did nothing wrong. You followed every rule. And still, you are now liable.
You call. You ask. You explain your situation.
The answer is polite, but clear:
“The responsibility lies with you.”
There it is again. That sentence.
And this time, it cuts deeper.
Because you understand: responsibility here is not understood as dignity, but as a tool.
As the final screw in the system.
A Different Experience of Responsibility
Later, you sit with someone who tells you about a different framework.
Not as a solution. Not as salvation. Simply as an experience.
He says:
“There is no authority there that tells you you are responsible. It just happens.”
He speaks about Infinity-Economics. Not technically. Not enthusiastically. But calmly.
“When I make a decision there, I carry the consequences. No one cushions it. No one corrects it for me. And precisely because of that, I take it seriously.”
You listen.
And realise how much you have missed this feeling.
Not being protected.
But being taken seriously.
Responsibility That Makes Sense Again
When you start gaining your own experience, nothing spectacular happens.
No reward. No praise.
But something changes inside you.
You think more carefully.
You act more consciously.
Not out of fear of sanctions – but because it is truly your decision.
Mistakes feel different. Not better. But more honest.
You cannot shift the blame to anyone else. And you don’t have to.
Here, responsibility is not a pressure tool.
It is a consequence of ownership.
The Insight of This Part
You begin to understand why so much in everyday life feels wrong.
Not because you don’t want to carry responsibility.
But because it is imposed on you without giving you real control.
Responsibility without decision is not responsibility.
It is the administration of people.
And dignity does not arise from telling someone they are responsible.
It arises from trusting them to decide for themselves – and to carry the consequences.
Outlook
You are not at the end yet.
But you are more awake now.
You know this:
If everything is decided for you, but you are still held accountable, something is wrong.
And you sense that there is another step ahead.
One that goes beyond responsibility.
Something that cannot be mandated.
Dignity.